England cruised to retaining the Arnold Clark Cup with a dominant 6-1 victory over Belgium in Bristol featuring a double from Chloe Kelly.
Winger Kelly 's early tap-in and captain Leah Williamson 's header, after good work from Lucy Bronze, gave the Lionesses a comfortable half-time lead and put one hand on the trophy. A rare error from the usually reliable Belgium goalkeeper Nicky Evrard then presented Kelly with a gift to make it 3-0 just after the break, before defender Julie Biesmans turned the ball into her own net after a dangerous cross from Georgia Stanway.
Bronze then added a fifth late-on from close range, before Belgium got themselves on the scoresheet thanks to a stunning strike from Elena Dhont, catching Mary Earps cold. Williamson though ensured England had the final say, with a composed finish from the edge of the penalty area.
Belgium had come into the final game of the tournament with maximum points themselves after two wins from their opening two games. But despite the Red Flames late goal, the Lionesses were never in any real danger of failing to secure maximum points across the three games, with manager Sarina Wiegman extending her unbeaten run as England boss to 29 games.
Here are five talking points from Bristol as England's flying start to 2023 continued.
Kelly finds ruthless touch to win Golden Boot
She may have scored the most important goal in Lionesses' history last July, but Chloe Kelly's international career hasn't been flowing with goals with her strike against South Korea last week her fourth goal at senior level. But she managed to get her first England brace to lead the way in a routine Lionesses win in Bristol.
Kelly's goals were both tap-ins, the second only coming after an uncharacteristic mistake from Evrard. But with competition for places amongst the English forwards fierce, Kelly will have done her chances no harm by finishing as the tournament's top scorer with three goals.
The two tonight were straightforward finishes but Kelly's performance deserved it. The Man City winger seemed to up excitement levels in the crowd almost at will, regularly going on mazy dribbles and leaving Jody Vangheluwe chasing shadows.
Cheat code James again provides the opener
As they did against South Korea, England broke the deadlock thanks to a powerful run from the in-form Lauren James. Helped by a clever dummy run from Georgia Stanway, James drove through the heart of the Belgium defence before her cross was scrambled in by Chloe Kelly in the 12 minute.
It wrapped up a near-perfect week for James, who was player of the match in the 4-0 thumping over Korea, before assisting Rachel Daly's winner against Italy. The Chelsea star is becoming a key player for her national team and her performance tonight is yet more evidence for Wiegman that she can't be left out of the team.
Every time the ball went wide right, the Belgium backline looked panic, with James only let down by poor decision-making with her final passes or efforts on goal. James was withdrawn by Lauren Hemp at half-time, but even in the space of 45 minutes she had made her presence felt.
Leah Williamson described her as a 'cheat code' and on this current form it is hard to argue otherwise.
Russo selection may set tone for the World Cup
Although Sarina Wiegman has said a number of times this week she doesn't need to know her best team yet, it is hard not to read between the lines at Alessia Russo's selection up front. Despite Rachel Daly's double against Italy, it was the Man Utd striker given the nod in what looked like England's strongest XI.
Russo struggled for clear cut chances, but her link-up play and general movement was positive, moving the Lionesses up the pitch on the rare occasion Belgium were trying to pin the European Champions back. She did play a part in the build-up for Williamson's crucial second, although she may have been fortunate not to be pulled up for handball in the process.
But Russo got better as the game went on, regularly shrugging off challenges from Belgium defenders and will have been pleased with her performance.
Although Daly departs with a greater number of goals, by starting two of the three games this week
Walsh gets the England midfield ticking
Belgium manager Ives Serneels said he expected England to have the majority of possession. But even the Red Flames coach wouldn't have expected Keira Walsh to have ran the show as much as she did this evening.
The Barcelona star set the tone in the eighth minute with a pinpoint pass releasing Chloe Kelly down the left channel, her cross somehow blazed over the bar by Lauren James. It was a sign of things to come from Walsh.
Even Georgia Stanway looked more comfortable next to her as England's first-choice midfield partnership dominated in the engine room. Italy managed to contain Walsh to a degree on Sunday, but tonight she was too clever and too quick for Belgium to lay a glove on her.
When she is on her 'A' game - England are a different proposition.
Are Lionesses now World Cup favourites?
South Korea, Italy and Belgium aren't teams who would be expected to mount serious challenges at the World Cup finals. In the case of tonight's opponents - they won't even be at the tournament having failed to qualify.
But Belgium were good in their other two matches this week, picking up deserved victories over both the Italians and the Koreans. Yet were no match for an on-song Lionesses, who dominated throughout, even danger striker Tessa Wullaert was reduced to a background role, barely touching the ball.
England have impressed again and have added yet another trophy since Wiegman took charge, exactly five months out from their World Cup opener against Haiti. She is still yet to lose a game as Lionesses boss and right now her team look almost untouchable.
There is still a long way to go until the summer. But if England can see off both Brazil and Australia in April, whilst adding another trophy with the Finalissima if they beat the South American Champions, can they really be seen as anything other than the best team on the planet?
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